“HOW CAN I BE SURE I WANT TO MOVE JOBS?”

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a career change – especially if your friends and peers are making what look like life-changing decisions or the job market is looking very enticing. If you are fed up staring at the person opposite you or find you are increasingly going online to check out cheap flights then maybe it is time to move… you’re stuck in a rut and need a change. However, this rut could also be a temporary lull in your motivation and, if push came to shove, you’d rather stay where you are ’cause it ain’t all that bad’.

So how can you be sure about how you feel? Are you really ready to move on or is it that your current role could indeed satisfy your long-term ambitions following some honest discussion?

• If you were to list the elements of your current role that get you down/bore you/make you unhappy, are there any aspects that realistically could be changed if they were to be addressed or do you feel it would be like hitting your head off a brick wall?
• Do you find the work challenging; it’s just that there’s too much/ too little of it?
• Does the way you are expected to work ultimately suit your personality, i.e. autonomously or as part of a team and does it bring the best out in you?
• Do you get fulfilment from your current role?
• And if so, would remaining with this current firm/organisation allow you to fulfil your long-term career goals?
• Do you know what your long-term career goals are?
• Is it a case of grass-is-greenerism… are you really just looking for a comparison?
• Are you confident you can positively address any concerns you may have about your current role without it sending off alarm bells?
• Or do you feel you would benefit from some impartial advice from a third party?

Unfortunately only you can answer these questions. There is obviously lots to think about and sometimes just talking it through can really help clear your head. The truth is, we’ve all been there… those times when you fantasise about practising darts on your boss’s head, or telling your clients what you really think of them.

Don’t let the soul-searching get you down. If it is impartial advice you want about how you are feeling at work, then sometimes it really is good to talk… and we’re here to listen.

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